NSW police seeking information after second childcare centre fire in four days
Authorities are appealing for information after a ‘suspicious’ fire at a childcare centre in Sydney’s west in the early hours of Monday morning.
The ABC reports the blaze took place at a Play to Learn facility in Castle Hill. Another Play to Learn centre also caught fire in Sydney’s Turramurra on Friday. NSW police said:
About 1:30am today, emergency services were called to a business in Excelsior Avenue, Castle Hill, following reports of a fire. NSW Fire and Rescue are on scene and have extinguished the blaze. There has been minor damage caused to the building.
Police said later this morning the fire ‘is being treated as suspicious and detectives are investigating whether the incident is linked to a fire in Turramurra last week’.
Police have established a crime scene and are investigating the cause of the incident.
Key events
Police investigating after man with suspected gunshot wound crashes car into tree in Melbourne
Victorian police are investigating after a man was found with a suspected gunshot wound after a car crash in a Melbourne suburb last night.
Emergency services responded to reports of a car that had driven through a park fence and crashed into a tree in the suburb of Roxburgh Park last night around 7pm.
The driver, a 30-year-old man, was taken to hospital where he remains in critical but stable condition. He sustained injuries in the crash, but is also believed to have a gunshot wound to his lower body. A woman, 26, was also in the car and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The exact circumstances of the crash are yet to be determined, but police said it appeared to be a “targeted incident”. A crime scene has been established.
Josh Butler
‘Gross overreach’: Labor group urges Albanese to reject key parts of antisemitism envoy plan
A “groundswell” of Labor rank-and-file members are urging the government to reject key recommendations from the federal antisemitism envoy, according to an internal lobby group, urging a focus on anti-racism education rather than more contentious ideas such as stripping funding from universities and arts bodies.
Labor Friends of Palestine, an internal campaign group of members and politicians, said it was concerned about anti-Jewish hatred, but would be troubled about wider adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s contested definition of antisemitism, as recommended by Jillian Segal in a wide-ranging plan last week.
Three co-conveners of the group have written to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, saying they were “deeply concerned” about parts of Segal’s recommendations, describing her ideas about amending immigration law, changing school curriculums or potentially terminating funding to academics and artists as “gross overreach”. The group is also planning a campaign to gather further support from more Labor party branches.
Peter Moss, a co-convener of Labor Friends of Palestine, told Guardian Australia:
There is a groundswell of outrage among rank-and-file Labor members. There is deep concern about the use of the IHRA definition which has been deployed to stifle criticism of the state of Israel.
Read more here:
Ian Sample
Scientists detect biggest ever merger of two massive black holes
Scientists have detected ripples in space-time from the violent collision of two massive black holes that spiralled into one another far beyond the distant edge of the Milky Way.
The black holes, each more than 100 times the mass of the sun, began circling each other long ago and finally slammed together to form an even more massive black hole about 10bn light years from Earth.
The event is the most massive black hole merger ever recorded by gravitational wave detectors and has forced physicists to rethink their models of how the enormous objects form. The signal was recorded when it hit detectors on Earth sensitive enough to detect shudders in space-time thousands of times smaller than the width of a proton.
Read more here:
AFP restrains $1m from alleged illicit vape sales
The Australian Federal Police has restrained more than $1m from two bank accounts after allegations the money came from illicit vape sales in Sydney and online.
Authorities conducted a joint investigation with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) as part of an effort called Operation Smokestorm, which began in May. The AFP said it received intel from ANZ and Westpac about an account that allegedly received the proceeds of vape sales and later conducted search warrants on several storage units in Sydney.
Police said they seized some online branded vapes and handwritten inventories detailing vape flavors and qualities.
The money in the restrained bank accounts may ultimately be forfeited to the commonwealth. Jason Kennedy, an AFP commander, said in a statement:
The ability to restrain property suspected to be the proceeds of crime sends a clear message to criminals – if you commit crime, you not only risk a term of imprisonment, but we will also target your ill-gotten assets.
If these funds are forfeited to the commonwealth, they will be redirected to crime prevention and diversionary programs which benefit the community.
Lifeblood ban on many gay and bisexual men donating plasma ends today
Most gay and bisexual men and more transgender people are now officially eligible to donate plasma after Lifeblood’s updated rules on donation guidelines went into effect this morning.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood announced the changes last month, which removed most sexual activity wait times which had previously excluded many LGBTQ+ people from donating plasma if they had sex in the previous three months. The group estimates about 625,000 more Australians may now be eligible to donate plasma, with around 95,000 additional donations expected to be made each year. Stephen Cornelissen, the CEO of Lifeblood, said:
We’re looking forward to welcoming many more people into our donor centres from today. Importantly, today’s change will allow those on PrEP to become the first in the world to donate plasma without a wait period.
More people from Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community can now donate plasma without a wait period, including gay and bisexual men, anyone on PrEP, transgender people in relationships with men, and others excluded by previous sexual activity rules. https://t.co/gTLnRZ7GV4 pic.twitter.com/MMjLlkhJND
— lifebloodau (@lifebloodau) July 13, 2025
Lifeblood is also moving forward on plans to open up blood donations to more people with an updated, gender-neutral questionnaire that could be introduced in 2026. Under the plans, all donors will be asked the same questions about sexual activity, regardless of gender or sexuality.
Read more here:
Opinion: ‘The special envoy’s plan is the latest push to weaponise antisemitism in Australia, as a relentless campaign pays off’
Former publisher Louise Adler says in an opinion piece the plans to see all levels of government adopt the definition of antisemitism is “certainly guilty of overreach”.
Read more here:
Sinner calls Wimbledon title win ‘amazing’: ‘I am living my dream’
Jannik Sinner said he is living his dream after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in spectacular fashion to win his first Wimbledon title. The world No 1 beat the two-time defending champion 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to become the first Italian to win a Wimbledon singles title and clinch his fourth grand slam crown. He said after his victory:
It’s amazing to be in this position. We were talking before the match, we would never have thought to be in this position back in the days when I was young. This was only a dream; dream of the dream as it was so far away from where I am from.
I am living my dream. It’s amazing. I want to thank my team and everyone who came here from this special day. You give me so much emotions on and off the court and we try to keep pushing and become a better tennis player, but mostly a better person.”
Read more here:
NSW police seeking information after second childcare centre fire in four days
Authorities are appealing for information after a ‘suspicious’ fire at a childcare centre in Sydney’s west in the early hours of Monday morning.
The ABC reports the blaze took place at a Play to Learn facility in Castle Hill. Another Play to Learn centre also caught fire in Sydney’s Turramurra on Friday. NSW police said:
About 1:30am today, emergency services were called to a business in Excelsior Avenue, Castle Hill, following reports of a fire. NSW Fire and Rescue are on scene and have extinguished the blaze. There has been minor damage caused to the building.
Police said later this morning the fire ‘is being treated as suspicious and detectives are investigating whether the incident is linked to a fire in Turramurra last week’.
Police have established a crime scene and are investigating the cause of the incident.
Greens environment spokesperson calls for NSW premier to explain after koala deaths
Greens MP Sue Higginson, the party’s spokesperson for the environment in NSW, said the report on koala deaths was “deeply disturbing, tragic and cruel”. Higginson said in a statement:
This level of experimentation with our endangered koalas is cruel, was a catastrophic failure and should not have happened. The control settings around this translocation experiment were obviously fundamentally flawed and I don’t think the public would find this level of experimentation with our endangered koalas at all acceptable.
Higginson called on the NSW premier, Chris Minns, and environment minister, Penny Sharpe, to explain.
Koalas are not expendable, any and all translocation programs must be immediately stopped and the ethics and controls around such programs need to be reviewed transparently and publicly. In this case there needs to be an investigation as to whether animal cruelty laws have been breached.
Read more here:
Lisa Cox
More than half of koalas relocated to NSW forest died after failed attempt at reintroduction
An attempt by the New South Wales government to reintroduce koalas to a forest in the state’s far south has failed after more than half of the moved animals died, including two with signs of septicaemia, and the remaining marsupials were taken into care.
The translocation and deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in April were not made public by the government, prompting questions about whether something went wrong with the project and calls from the NSW Greens for a review.
The project was aiming to re-establish a koala population in an area of south-eastern NSW where the species is locally extinct. Translocation is part of NSW’s koala strategy to try to improve the trajectory of the endangered species, at risk of extinction in the state.
A spokesperson for the NSW environment department told Guardian Australia 13 koalas were selected for translocation in April and moved from “a high-density population” in the Upper Nepean state conservation area west of Wollongong to the South East Forest national park near Bega.
They said three koalas died within a two-day period in early April, which led the department’s project team to put the remaining 10 animals into a wildlife hospital. Four more koalas died.
Adopting antisemitism definition would be ‘disaster’, says author who helped draft it
Kenneth Stern, the director of the US-based Bard Center for the Study of Hate, said it is a “disaster” that Australia is considering the adoption of a working definition of antisemitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) as part of a plan to end anti-Jewish hatred. Jillian Segal, the federal special envoy to combat antisemitism, recommended last week the definition be adopted by all levels of government and said universities should face funding cuts if they fail to fight such hate speech, among other efforts.
Stern was the lead drafter of what was then called the “working definition of antisemitism” two decades ago, an effort to help experts and governments better monitor antisemitism over time and across borders, he wrote for the Guardian. The definition was later adopted by the IHRA in 2016.
But Stern described the plan to adopt it in Australia as a “disaster”, saying it was never meant to silence speech. He told RN Breakfast:
I think when you make things a free speech fight, that’s a problem. What I started seeing back around 2010 in the United States is the definition was being weaponised to go after pro-Palestinian speech, and a lot of that speech I don’t like either. But when you start having official definitions of what is a particular type of hatred, that leads to problems that are, in my country at least, the United States, reminiscent of McCarthyism …
We wouldn’t do that about racism, we wouldn’t do it about anti-Palestinian animus, we wouldn’t do it about other things. But it’s being used this way, you know, to go after speech. And what that does is not only harm democracy, it blinds us to how antisemitism actually works.
Watt says government remains set on ‘preserving the Great Barrier Reef forever’
Watt spoke this morning about renewed discussions over the Great Barrier Reef at the world heritage meeting in Paris last week. He said the Albanese government remains concerned about the health of the reef and rejected any claims the government was “turning a blind eye” to its health, telling RN:
We recognise that the Great Barrier Reef, along with all coral reefs in the world, is under pressure, particularly from climate change. There’s other factors that have been impacting on the Great Barrier Reef as well, such as runoff and water quality.
And that’s exactly why we’ve been investing hundreds of millions of dollars to increase water quality, to make sure that the fishing industry operating around the reef is more sustainable, to build the resilience of the reef.
But look, we acknowledge that there’s still more to be done there. I think all Australians and the whole world have got an interest in preserving the Great Barrier Reef forever, and that’s absolutely the intent of our government.
Murray Watt says World Heritage decision on Murujuga won’t impact final decision on Woodside extension
The environment minister, Murray Watt, has claimed that the science is clear that “industry can co-exist with rock art” in the Murujuga landscape in WA, saying the recent decision to list the area on the world heritage list would not affect the government’s final decision on the extension of the Woodside gas project.
Watt told RN Breakfast of the world heritage committee decision in Paris this weekend:
It won’t apply to any decisions that are currently under way or that have happened previously.
But what’s important about this decision is that any future industrial development in that precinct would need to comply with the rules surrounding world heritage nominations.
This is a really special moment to have Murujuga listed for world heritage. … I said that we would be applying strict conditions and preservation of the rock art was central to my decision when I made that a few weeks ago. But I guess this is also a way of keeping future governments and future industry honest to make sure that it does have this extra layer of protection against any inappropriate development in the future. And that’s a good thing.
Albanese to raise concerns over Chinese steel dumping at roundtable
Anthony Albanese will raise Australian concerns over Chinese steel dumping as he urges industry leaders from both nations to work together to develop low-carbon steel production methods, AAP reports.
At a roundtable of Australian iron ore producers and Chinese steelmakers in Shanghai on Monday, Albanese will call on China to address an oversupply of steel in the global market.
Excess Chinese steel production – the result of prolonged economic stimulus and weak domestic demand – has flooded the international market in recent years, squeezing producers in places such as the US and Europe and precipitating allegations of dumping.
Australia imposed anti-dumping duties on steel imports from China but the World Trade Organization found they were improperly applied. Albanese will tell the roundtable this morning:
As both countries cooperate to advance decarbonisation, we also need to work together to address global excess steel capacity.
It is in both countries’ interests to ensure a sustainable and market-driven global steel sector.
Josh Butler
PM uses trip to launch new tourism campaign aimed at Chinese market
Anthony Albanese has used his China trip to launch a new tourism campaign meant to encourage more holidaymakers to visit Australia.
The PM wants to boost the country as a destination for Chinese visitors, further increasing the interest of a market already worth $9.2bn in tourism – Australia’s largest tourist market by expenditure.
In Shanghai, on the first full day of his trip on Sunday, Albanese was on hand as Tourism Australia and Trip.com Group signed a memorandum of understanding which “promotes Australia as a premier tourist destination for Chinese travellers as well as visitors from other key Asian markets”, according to his office. The PM’s office said:
This partnership will provide a significant boost for Australia’s tourism industry.
Trip.com is one of the world’s biggest travel networks, used by more than 300 million travellers globally – including huge numbers in China and through Asia. Albanese said:
Not only is Australia’s beef, barley, red wine and rock lobster the best in the world – we’re the best place in the world to come for a holiday.
Expanding our tourism relationship with China will mean more jobs for Australians and a boost for Australian businesses.
Albanese’s six-day China trip continues today with an expected meeting with China’s premier, Xi Jinping, on Tuesday.
Grace Kim wins golf major after dramatic final round
24-year-old Grace Kim produced one of the most astonishing golfing fightbacks in history to join Australia’s illustrious group of major champions, AAP reports.
Kim recovered from four shots behind in a most dramatic final round to clinch victory over world No 2 Jeeno Thitikul on the second playoff hole at the Evian championship in France. Kim said after the astounding eagle-birdie-eagle finish:
I don’t know how it happened, really.
It’s a huge achievement for me. I’ve had a lot of doubts early this year. I was kind of losing motivation. I kind of had to get some hard conversations done with the team. Yeah, kind of had to wake up a little bit.
So to be sitting here next to this trophy is definitely surreal.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to Monday’s live news blog. I’m Nick Visser and I’ll be taking you through the morning’s news.
Anthony Albanese – who is now in China – will raise Australian concerns over Chinese steel dumping as he urges industry leaders from both nations to work together to develop low-carbon steel production methods. The PM has also launched a new tourism campaign to encourage more holidaymakers from China to visit Australia.
In response to an exclusive Guardian story, the New South Wales Greens MP Sue Higginson has described the deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in a conversation project as “deeply disturbing, tragic and cruel”.
And Jannik Sinner has exorcised the wretched memory of his painful French Open title capitulation by defeating his great young rival Carlos Alcaraz.